Cement, Energy and Environment

Around 1000 tonne of plastic refuse segregated from municipal dump everyday in the major Indian cities could considerably reduce the coal input in the industry knocking off the need for export coal like Australian coal dubbed to contain 20 to 25% ash content. Speaking to FE, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Chairman, S P Gautam said the board would come out with a comprehensive draft on the usage of waste plastic in the cement kilns. "With high calorific value, the use of 10,000 tonne of trash plastic could replace around 20,000 tonne of coal in the industry", he pointed out. "Various state pollution control boards had already evolved draft guidelines to be followed by the cement manufacturing industries in their respective regions. We are working on a comprehensive draft of the national level on the usage guidelines of the refuse plastic in the cement kilns. The cement companies in Eco-friendly advice • 150 major and 300 minor cement manufacturers in the country consume close to 29 million tonne coal per year. • The supply of coal from the linkages to the cement industry has declined from 80% to 50%. • A comprehensive draft is under preparation on the usage guideline of refuse plastic in cement kilns. Madhya Pradesh are procuring segregated trash plastic from the local municipalities to incinerate them along with coal in the kilns. Precisely, we are fortifying the regulatory prov1s1ons in the yet to be released national draft for the cement industry", he said without specifying the date of unveiling the final draft. "Under the mandate of EPA (Environment Protection Agency) , Ministry of Environment and Forests, we are considering to make use of scrap plastic as a mandatory clause for the cement industries", pointed out the CPCB Chairman. Other than plastic, similar to European practice, the Indian cement industries could use refinery sludge, paint sludge and tyre chips as substitute for coal in the kilns, Gautam said adding that modalities are to be studied by CPCB on various emission-specific factors items. Courtesy: The Financial Express, December 30, 2009. IN QUEST OF A POLICY– COAL MINE METHANE INDUSTRY IN INDIA Pramod Kumar Singh, Analyst, ICF International Coal mine methane in India has taken the spotlight in recent times due to India's large coal resources base and environmental benefits that methane emission reduction can achieve. Coal mine methane (CMM) is released from the working coal seam and surrounding strata immediately before, during or subsequent to mining activities. Methane, the main constituent of CMM, is a useful energy resource but also a highly potent greenhouse gas having 23 times global warming potential than C0 2 . It is trapped inside the coal and gets released to the atmosphere at the time of coal mining, processing, storage and transportation. Mining accounts for majority of coal methane emissions and therefore, actions to capture and utilize methane associated with coal mining will serve the dual purpose of addressing climate change and meeting energy needs. Capturing and utilizing methane is one of the most cost effective options for mitigating GHG emissions in the coal sector. Sophisticated CMM recovery techniques greatly enhance mine air quality, mine safety, and decrease downtime leading to increased mine productivity. This would also generate additional revenues for the project developer. These benefits make a strong business case for capturing and utilizing CMM, but sadly, the industry is not making any headway. Despite the opportunities, project developers have shown lukewarm response in developing CMM projects apparently because of the uncertainties created due to lack of policy. Speculation regarding the future of carbon market has also accentuated developer's apprehension that their investmenVanticipated revenue might get jeopardized. To provide developers a comfortable p laying field, enabling policy is immediately required to make promising CMM project development. Policy intervention to encourage CMM development Coal meets 60 per cent of India's primary energy requirement and dependency on coal is likely to remain unchanged in the years ahead. Of all the scenarios considered by Integrated Energy Policy to project future energy requirement by 2031-32, coal's share in energy mix never comes below 41 per cent. This would require coal production to increase manifold from the 48